World Heritage Photos

Flemish Béguinage of Tongeren – A Medieval Sanctuary Behind the Moeren Gate

Béguinages were founded in the 13th and 14th centuries in the Netherlands and Flanders. The emergence of beguinages was largely driven by wars that led to a surplus of women. As many women joined convents, these soon became overcrowded. Because poor women lacked the dowry required to enter a convent, they became beguines instead. Béguines were often widowed or unmarried; they dedicated their lives to God without retiring from the world. They lived a religious life, but did not take vows. A béguinage historically consists of a group of small houses built around a church or a chapel, enclosed by a wall with an entrance gate. 

The Flemish Béguinage in Tongeren, Belgium, was founded in 1257. It survived the Great Fire of 1677 because the earlier medieval wooden houses had been replaced by red brick houses. The Church of St. Catherine was built in 1294; this Gothic church stands in the centre of the béguinage. The beguinage was situated within the medieval walls of the town of Tongeren and lies nestled behind the Moeren Gate.

Thirteen Flemish Béguinages became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. The Béguinage in Tongeren is part of this site. Other béguinages include the Béguinage in Sint-Truiden and the Béguinage in Diest. The historic town of Tongeren features two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the belfry, which is part of the Belfries of Belgium and France, and the Flemish Béguinages.

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   The Flemish Béguinage of St. Catherine in Tongeren lies behind the impressive Moeren Gate, a city gate also known as the Moeren Tower. The original gate was built between 1257 and 1264 on the remains of a Roman wall dating back to the 2nd century. As a result of acts of war, the gate was destroyed in 1347 and rebuilt in 1379. In 1673, the front section of the structure was destroyed by French troops, but thanks to negotiations between the French commander and the residents of the béguinage, the gate itself was spared. In the Middle Ages, Tongeren had six gates, with the Moeren Gate being the only surviving gate. 

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   The Clothmaker's Tower (Lakenmakerstoren) on the wall of the Flemish Béguinage in Tongeren. This béguinage is one of the oldest in Flanders. Béguines were women who dedicated their lives to God without retiring from the world. These women lived a religious life under vows of chastity and obedience, but did not take permanent monastic vows. The béguines, the inhabitants of the béguinages, were protected by the Church and the local bishop. In the second half of the 18th century, the number of woman living in the beguinage declined.

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   The 13th-century Clothmaker's Tower was built using flint taken from an ancient Roman wall. This semicircular tower originally served as a defensive tower for the medieval city wall along the Jeker. At that time, each of Tongeren’s guilds served as the protector of one of the city towers. This tower was defended by weavers of woolen cloth, which explains why it is called the Clothmaker's Tower. The Béguinage in Tongeren is situated behind the medieval defensive town wall and this robust tower. This béguinage is also known as the Béguinage of St. Catherine.

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   The Church of St. Catherine was built from local flint and consecrated in 1294. The church is also known as the Béguinage Church or the Friars' Church. One of the oldest churches in Tongeren, it forms the heart of the béguinage. The pointed-arch windows are typical of the Early Gothic style. In the 14th century, the extensions to the church were built using Limburg marlstone. The Flemish Béguinage, which was founded in 1257, is a so-called street-type béguinage. It survived the Great Fire of 1677 because the wooden houses had been replaced by the current red brick houses around 1650. 

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   The Church of St. Catherine is situated in the centre of the Béguinage in Tongeren and was dedicated to Saint Catherine, the patron saint of the beguinage. The slender, graceful Baroque spire that rises above the roof replaced in an earlier tower 1711. The Baroque interior of the church is decorated with 17th- and 18th-century paintings and woodcarvings. The church also houses five Baroque altars from the same period. The imposing statue 'The Suffering Christ' was donated by one of the béguines. Tongeren consists of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Flemish Béguinages and the Belfries of Belgium and France.

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   In a picturesque corner of the Flemish Béguinage in Tongeren stands Herberg De Pelgrim (The Pilgrim Inn), a former béguine house dating back to 1632. Next to it stands a 17th-century property constructed in the regional Mosan style, which was once the residence of a wealthy béguine. A little further on lies the small square known as 'Onder de Linde' (Under the Linden Tree). This area contains the oldest houses in the béguinage, as well as the Béguinage Museum, which is housed in an authentic béguine house from 1660. Here, visitors can learn all about the lives of the béguines. 

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   St. Ursula Chapel in the Béguinage of Tongeren is dedicated to Saint Ursula. The chapel stands behind the town wall of Tongeren, the oldest town in Belgium, and is nestled on the banks of the River Jeker. The chapel was built during the 13th century next to the infirmary, where elderly and ill béguines were taken care of. The chapel was replaced in the Baroque style in the 18th century and features a characteristic Dutch gable, an architectural style from the time when Flanders was a region of the Low Countries. Nowadays, the building is used for cultural events, such as exhibitions and concerts. 

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   A small bridge over the River Jeker in the Flemish Béguinage of Tongeren, with the Saint Ursula Chapel lying behind the arched gateway. In the 13th century, many béguinages were founded across the Netherlands and Flanders (the Low Countries). A béguinage consists of a group of small houses built around a church or chapel, enclosed by a wall with an entrance gate. While wealthy women had the dowry required to enter a convent, poor women formed béguinages to survive. These communities established facilities such as an infirmary (a ward or hospital) for the care of the sick, and a laundry where the woman could work. 

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   The majority of the houses in the Beguinage of Tongeren are built using a combination of red brick and Limburg marlstone, typical of the Mosan style in this region. The oldest surviving stone béguine house in this style dates from 1602. When plundering French troops set fire to the town of Tongeren in 1677, the béguinage remained largely undamaged, partly because the houses were built of stone. A unique historic mobile fire pump stands on the cobblestones in front of this béguinage house. This iconic iron fire engine was used during the 19th century to protect the centuries-old buildings from fire.

10. 

    The Belfry of the Basilica of Our Lady in Tongeren; the original Romanesque belfry was replaced by the present 64-metre-tall Gothic belfry between 1442 and 1544. The interior of the basilica is home to several religious treasures, among them the statue of 'Our Lady of Tongeren, Cause of Our Joy'. This walnut statue was sculpted around 1479. The current Chaudoir carillon consists of 49 bells, with the oldest dating back to 1782. The carillon still chimes every quarter of an hour around the clock. An earlier carillon was destroyed in the great fire of 1677. The basilica is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Belfries of Belgium and France.